Developed and Published by Snowcastle Games, Earthlock is a sort of director's cut remake of Earthlock: Festival of Magic which we reviewed for the Wii U [here insert url with alternate text] Is the new content worth double-dipping? Perhaps, but this is definitely the definitive version of the game without a doubt and here's why:

The gameplay is more or less unchanged from the previous version of Earthlock so expect rather enjoyable turn-based battles, robust partner system, and the unique stance system that Earthlock: Festival of Magic possessed. There is a ton of new content however including a quest system, new sidequests and more.

The story has been heavily altered with a ton of new content including new and alternate story scenes which will be enjoyed by newcomers and veteran players alike!

The controls in Earthlock are solid, but the difficulty can be downright brutal at times with sudden spikes in difficulty which can be a bit jarring at times, but it didn't stop us from completing the game.

The visual presentation is nice enough for a 3-D PS4 indie title, it won't blow you away, but it's pretty nice with unique characters and enemies and a relatively detailed world. The audio on the other hand is top-notch with an excellent musical score that fits the game remarkably well! There is no voice acting which is a shame, but otherwise the audio-presentation is flawless!

Bottom-Line:

With an expanded story with quite a bit of new content, excellent gameplay, and solid controls Earthlock is a great addition to any RPG gamer's library of games, and the solid 3-D visuals and amazing soundtrack will keep you coming back for some more! Overall the game is fantastic, really the only flaw the game has are some spikes in difficulty, but thankfully those spikes are manageable if you grind a bit. We give Earthlock for the PS4 a great level of recommendation!

Developed and published by Snowcastle Games, Earthlock: Festival of Magic might be developed by a European company, but is truly a JRPG at heart with a colorful artstyle, and music you'd expect from the Japanese sub-genre of RPG's. Is the game as a whole worth purchasing if you're a Wii U owner? We think so and here's why:

Earthlock: Festival of Magic is a mouthful so we'll just call it Earthlock for the rest of the review. Earthlock is a turn-based Japanese-style RPG that is the first fully 3D indie RPG to ever grace a Nintendo console in the West. The story is all about magic and youth and well it's pretty good, though don't expect anything groundbreaking in this regard. The gameplay on the other-hand is a bit more unique with a monster partner system, and a farm to grow ammunition for your characters guns. There's also a bit of city development and other very enjoyable features that we thoroughly had a blast with!

The game itself can be relatively short if you try to power through it, but completionists can expect over 60 hours of gameplay! The difficulty can be challenging at times, but for the most part is well balanced with easy solutions to beat otherwise extremely challenging bosses. The controls are also intuitive and easy to learn which is always a good thing, however the lack of Gamepad features despite the fact that the game can only be played with one is rather disappointing.

Visually the game looks absolutely breathtaking for an indie title as the world has a crazy amount of detail, the characters and monsters look great, and the special effects look amazing, especially the lighting effects! The audio presentation is also fantastic with great tracks that fit the game well to great ambiance in certain dungeons and locations. Overall we'd say the game showcases just how good a 3D indie game can look with enough effort!

Bottom-Line:

With amazing gameplay, easy to learn controls, and a top-notch audio-visual presentation, Earthlock: Festival of Magic is an insanely fun game that'll keep you coming back for more, the own negative aspect of the game is that it really doesn't make use of the Gamepad. Overall however we give the game an amazing level of recommendation!

It's been a longtime coming, but the wait for Snowcastle Games' Wii U JRPG Earthlock Festival of Magic's release is almost over as the developer has confirmed that the game will likely be hitting the Wii U eShop sometime between late-February and early-March of this year if they don't run into any unforeseen issues. Are you looking forward to this upcoming eShop gem? As always be sure to let us know in our comment section below!